Lid latch

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a latch for container lids and the like characterized by a spring-returned plunger mounted within aperture in a marginal plunger-carrying ear for both rotational and reciprocating motion. The plunger includes a head of rectangular cross section which, when properly oriented, will pass through an opening therefor provided in a latch-receiving ear carried by the mating container part. This plunger head has the surface thereof adjoining its shank shaped to define a ridge adapted upon being depressed and rotated a quarter turn to seat within a transversely-extending notch in the opposing surface of the ear.

United States Patent 1 Goldberg July 10, 1973 LID LATCH [75] Inventor:

[73] Assignee: Goldberg Brothers, Inc., Denver,

Colo.

[22] Filed: July 29, 1971 [2]] Appl. No.: 167,355

Norman P. Goldberg, Denver, Colo.

[52] US. Cl 292/59, 206/52 F [51] Int. Cl. E05c 5/04 [58] Fieldof Search292/58, 59, 62, 68,

292/69; 206/52 F; 220/55 F, 55 D [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 1,792,537 2/193] lrwin 292/62 X FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS802,714 12/1968 Canada 206/52 F Primary Examiner-Robert L. WolfeAtt0rneyAnderson, Spangler & Wymore [57] ABSTRACT This invention relatesto a latch for container lids and the like characterized by aspring-retumed plunger mounted within aperture in a marginal plungercarrying ear for both rotational and reciprocating motion. The plungerincludes a head of rectangular cross section which, when properlyoriented, will pass through an opening therefor provided in alatchreceiving ear carried by the mating container part. This plungerhead has the surface thereof adjoining its shank shaped to define aridge adapted upon being depressed and rotated a quarter turn to seatwithin a transverselyextending notch in the opposing surface of the ear.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures Pmzmww 3.7443328 INVENTOR NORMAN P. GOLDBERG PAIENIEUJUUOW 3,744,828

SHEET 2 0f 2 INVENTOR NORMAN P, GO BERG BY F|G.5.

LID LATCH In our US. Pat. No. 3,552,551, we show a shipping and carryingcase for film reels that is quite similar in overall design to the oneillustrated herein, the main difference being in the mechanism used tolatch the .hinged lid closed. The earlier configuration employed a latchhaving a bifurcated end portion defining a pair of springable arms thatwould cam toward one another as they entered a rectangular aperture in alatchreceiving flange of the mating case part. Once through theaperture, the legs would spring apart and downwardly-facing shoulderscarried thereby would releasably lock atop the portions of the flangebordering the aperture.

Several problems arose with the aforementioned latch which necessitatedthe development of the improved one forming the subject matter of theinstant application. To begin with, the arms of the bifurcated latchmember had a tendency to break off if the user was not careful whenpinching them together to release it. Once this happened, the lid wasinsecurely fastened and, if it came open, a valuable reel of motionpicture film could be lost or damaged.

Even more significant than the breakage of the latch element was itsloss. The flanges depending from the lid and body portions of the caseeach contained rectangular openings of substantially the same size thatregistered with one another when the lid was closed. This meant thatwhen the legs of the latch were squeezed together to free the shoulders,it could pass right on down and out through both registering openingsand be lost. Here again, when this happened, the case became almostuseless. Since the prime function of these cases was, and still is, thatof a shipping container, the distributor of the film was left with noway of getting his film back from the renter or user thereof.

It has now been found in accordance with the teaching of the instantinvention that these and other shortcomings of our previous carryingcase latch can be overcome by the simple, but unobvious, expedient ofsubstituting a latch member that remains always permanently attached toa part of the case and both reciprocates and rotates as it moves betweenthe latched and unlatched positions thereof instead of relying uponspringable legs. Such a unit has the advantage of being much morereliable while, at the same time, remaining just about as simple to makeand to use. The shank of the plunger is recessed up inside a pocket inthe body where it is most unlikely that it could ever be actuatedaccidentally. With the exception of a coiled metal compression spring,no part of the latch undergoes deformation during the latching andunlatching sequence, therefore, the breakage problem is virtuallynonexistent. Springs of-this sort can, of course, undergo repeatedactuations millions of times without failing and, even if it were tobreak, its location and function in the instant latch is such that theunit would still operate much as if nothing had happened.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention toprovide a novel and improved lid latch for containers and the like.

A second objective of the within-described invention is the provsion ofa latch that is ideally suited for use as a releasable fastener on filmreel shipping and carrying cases.

Another object of the invention herein disclosed and claimed is toprovide a lid-securing latch that requires limited simultaneous axialand rotational movement in order to release or latch same andaccidential actuation is, therefore, virtually impossible.

An additional objective is to provide a carrying case latch that alwaysremains permanently connected to either the lid or body of thecontainer, and therefore, cannot be lost or misplaced.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a container lid latchthat is simple, inexpensive, easy to operate, compact, rugged, versatileand even decorative in appearance.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed outspecifically hereinafter in connection with the description of thedrawings that follows, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view showing a film reel carrying case equippedwith the lid latch of the present invention in open position;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the reel case in closed position, portionsof a comer of the lid having been broken away to better reveal theplunger;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary detail to an enlarged scale showing a corner ofthe lid with the plunger removed and the body visible through therectangular aperture therein;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary detail to the same scale as FIG. 3 and showingthe same corner of the lid but with the latch element rotated intolatched position;

FIG. 5 is a still further enlarged fragmentary section taken along line5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section to the same scale as FIG. 5 taken alongline 6-6 of FIG. 4; and,

FIG. 7 is a view showing the latch member by itself to the same scale asFIGS. 5 and 6.

Referring next to the drawings for a detailed descrip tion of thepresent invention and, initially, to FIGS. 1 and 2 for this purpose,reference numeral 10 has been chosen to broadly designate the containerthat carries the improved latch, the latter having been similarlydesignated by reference numeral 12. Container 10, in the particular formshown, constitutes a film reel shipping case of the same general typerevealed in my previously-identified patent, having a body 14 and a lid16 hingedly attached to the body along one edge. The body and lid areboth generally rectangular with rounded corners l8 connecting the hingededges 20 and 22 thereof with the side margins 24 and 26, respectively.What will be denominated here as the front corners 28 connect the sidemargins and front walls 30 and 32 are truncated as shown althoughintegrally-formed cars 34 and 36 project therefrom.

Friction-type clips 38 detachably mounted on integral webs 40 inside thebody are used to hold the film reel (not shown) while the lid is closed.All of the foregoing features are found in my earlier film reel shippingcase with the exception of the latch assembly 12 to which detailedreference will be made presently.

Since lid 16 is bordered by an outwardlyoffset marginal skirt 44 thattelescopes down over the walls of the body 14 in the manner shown inFIGS. 2 and 5 to which reference will now be made, ear 34 carried by thetruncated corners of the latter element must be offset beneath its freeedge in order to accommodate this skirt. Ear 36 projecting from thetruncated corner of the lid 16, on the other hand, emerges from the freeedges of the skirt and, in the closed position of the case, lies inface-to-face essentially parallel relation to the corre spondingplunger-carrying ear 34 on the body.

Ear 34 contains a circular opening 46 sized to loosely receive the shank48 of the plunger member 50 for both reciprocating and rotationalmovement relative thereto. This opening is bordered by adownwardlyprojecting circular wall 52 that shields the plunger element50 and prevents it from being accidentally raised up, rotated orotherwise actuated. This encircling wall 52 is spaced radially beyondthe margins of the opening 46 thus cooperating with the plunger-carryingcar 34 to produce a socket 54, the bottom 56 of which defines anabutment upon which to seat compression spring 58.

Next, referring to FIGS. and 7, it will be seen that shank 48 of theplunger member 50 includes an en larged generally frusto-conical section60 separated from the latter by a downwardly-facing shoulder 62 thatabuts the top surface of plunger carrying ear 34 adjacent opening 46.The shank 48 also includes an annular groove 64 that carries awasher-like spring abutment 66 and a horseshoe-shaped spring lock nut68. Spring 58 has the plunger shank 48 passing through the centerthereof as shown in FIG. 5. The action of this spring between spacedabutments 58 and 66 is, of course, to normally bias shoulder 62 downagainst the top surface of the plunger-carrying ear 34.

Next, with particular reference to FIG. 3-6, inclusive, it can be seenthat the plunger-receiving ear 36 on the lid is provided with arectangular aperture 70, the center of which coincides with the centerof the circular opening 46 in the plunger-carrying ear 34 although it isa good deal larger than the latter. Bordering this aperture 70 along thesides thereof are a pair of upwardly-facing transversely-aligned notches72 recessed into the top surface of a pair of upstanding integrally---formed bosses 74. On opposite sides of each notch 72 are oppositelyinclined -cam-forming ramps 76 that cooperate with said notch to definea stepped configuration that is most clearly revealed in FIG. 6.

The above-described bosses 74 with their notches and cam-forming rampsare located on the top surface of plunger-receiving ear 36 of the lid 16when the latter is in closed position atop the body 14. Thisupwardlyfacing exposed surface is enclosed by an upstanding marginal rim78 that forms a round-cornered juncture between the sidewall 28 and thefront endwall 32. Rim 78 is, however, cut-away at the corner to producea wide, yet fairly shallow, notch 80 sized to admit the thumb andforefinger of the operator who wishes to grasp the head 82 of theplunger and turn it between its latched and unlatched positions.

In FIGS. 4, 5 and 7 to which reference will now be made, it can be seenthat head 82 of the plunger 50 has a maximum horizontal or transversecross-sectional shape which takes the form of a rectangle sized tobarely pass freely through aperture 70 in car 36. Thus, when head 82 ispassed through aperture 70 up onto the top of plunger-receiving ear 36of the lid and rotated a quarter turn into the position in which it isshown in FIGS. 4 and 5, it will no longer pass back down through saidaperture. The laterally-projecting end portions 84 of the head 82 thatemerge from opposite sides of enlarged section 60 of the plunger areshaped to define downwardly and inwardly oppositelyinclined cam surfaces86 that intersect one another in an edge 88 adapted to seat within thetransverselyaligned nothces 72 in the bosses 74. Now, in order for edge88 of the plunger head to enter these nothces, the plunger must beraised up against the bias exerted thereon by compression spring 58 androtated a quarter of a turn. Rather than press plunger up, from thebottom, this latching thereof is most easily accomplished by graspingthe head 82 thereof between the thumb and forefinger and turning it 90.Asthis. occurs, two of the four opposed pairs of cam surfaces 76 and 86on the boss and plunger head will engage oneanother and cam the plungerupward axially as it turns until edge 88 can drop into notch 72. Itdepends, of course, upon the direction of rotation of the plunger whichof the four complementary sets of cam surfaces will become functionaland operative. If one wished to always turn the plunger in the samedirection to latch it and in the opposite direction to unlatch it, onepair of complementary cam surfaces could be eliminated altogether. Infact, cam surfaces need not be provided on both sides of the plungerhead and ear aperture 7.0 as a single complementary set will sufficenicely to latch the plunger in place provided that care is exercised inturning the plunger in the right direction each time while being sure itdoes not become tilted due to the eccentric forces brought to bearthereon.

Finally, it will be seen that the downwardly and upwardly-inclinedsurfaces 90 that intersect one another to produce notches 72, likewise,define cam surfaces operative to coast with the cam surfaces 86 of thehead to raise the plunger when rotating the latter from latched intounlatched or released position. The sides 92 of the head adjacent thetop 94 thereof and shown inclined slightly upwardly and toward oneanother to produce a good finger-hold although they may have othershapes.

What is claimed is:

1. The lid latch for containers and the like which comprises: akey-forming plunger having a generally cylindrical shank carrying atleast one laterally projecting portion at one end thereof defining oneccentric head; a pair of ears depending from the container body and lidtherefor located in face-to-face relation when said lid is closed, saidears having apertures therein portions of which are in register with oneanother, one of said apertures defining a guideway sized to receive theshank of the plunger and adaptedto restrict same to relative axial androtational movement therein, the other of said apertures including acorresponding laterally-offset non-registering portion cooperating withthe registering portion to define a keyway adapted to receive the headof the exposed surface of the ear bordering same upon limited relativerotational movement of said plunger into a second position, and meanslocated upon the exposed face of said keyway-apertured .ear defining anotch adapted to releasably retain the plunger head when the latteroccupies its second position; means comprising a spring abutment carriedby the plunger shank in spaced relation to the exposed face of theguideway-aperture ear; and, spring means located between the springabutment and exposed face of said guideway-apertured ear operative tonormally bias the plunger into retracted position and in which: the faceof the plunger head facing the shank thereof includes a pair ofoppositely-inclined cam surfaces intersecting one another to define aridge adapted to fit into the notch; and, the notch-defining meansincludes a pair of oppositely-inclined intersecting cam surfacesadjacent the notch on at least one side thereof positioned and adaptedto cooperate with the oppositelyinclined cam surfaces of the plungerhead to extend the plunger upon rotation thereof into second position inone direction and out of second position in the opposite direction.

2. The lid latch as set forth in claim 1 in which: the notch-definingmeans and plunger head include at least one pair of complementaryinclined cam surfaces positions and adapted to cooperate with oneanother to extend said plunger upon rotational movement thereof.

3. The lid latch as set forth in claim 1 in which: the shank of theplunger carries a laterally-extending portion defining a stop adapted toengage the hidden face of the guideway-aperture ear and limit theretractable movement thereof.

4. The lid latch as set forth in claim 1 in which: the spring meanscomprises a loose-wound helical compression spring positioned on theshank of the plunger.

5. The lid latch as set forth in claim 1 in which: the plunger includesa pair of laterally-projecting portions projecting diametrically inopposite directions from the shank; and, in which the keyway includes apair of diametrically-positioned laterally-offset non-registeringportions sized to pass both head-forming projections of the plunger.

6. The lid latch as set forth in claim 1 in which: the notch-definingmeans includes two pair of oppositelyinclined intersecting cam surfaces,one pair being located on one side of the notch and the second pair onthe other side thereof, said pairs cooperating with the oppositelyinclined cam surfaces of the plunger head to extend the plunger uponrotational movement thereof between its first and second positions ineither directlOn.

1. The lid latch for containers and the like which comprises: akey-forming plunger having a generally cylindrical shank carrying atleast one laterally projecting portion at one end thereof defining aneccentric head; a pair of ears depending from the container body and lidtherefor located in face-to-face relation when said lid is closed, saidears having apertures therein portions of which are in register with oneanother, one of said apertures defining a guideway sized to receive theshank of the plunger and adapted to restrict same to relative axial androtational movement therein, the other of said apertures including acorresponding laterally-offset non-registering portion cooperating withthe registering portion to define a keyway adapted to receive the headof the exposed surface of the ear bordering same upon limited relativerotational movement of said plunger into a second position, and meanslocated upon the exposed face of said keyway-apertured ear defining anotch adapted to releasably retain the plunger head when the latteroccupies its second position; means comprising a spring abutment carriedby the plunger shank in spaced relation to the exposed face of theguideway-aperture ear; and, spring means located between the springabutment and exposed face of said guidewayapertured ear operative tonormally bias the plunger into retracted position and in which: the faceof the plunger head facing the shank thereof includes a pair ofoppositely-inclined cam surfaces intersecting one another to define aridge adapted to fit into the notch; and, the notch-defining meansincludes a pair of oppositely-inclined intersecting cam surfacesadjacent the notch on at least one side thereof positioned and adaptedto cooperate with the oppositely-inclined cam surfaces of the plungerhead to extend the plunger upon rotation thereof into second position inone direction and out of second position in the opposite direction. 2.The lid latch as set forth in claim 1 in which: the notch-defining meansand plunger head include at least one pair of complementary inclined camsurfaces positions and adapted to cooperate with one another to extendsaid plunger upon rotational movement thereof.
 3. The lid latch as setforth in claim 1 in which: the shank of the plunger carries alaterally-extending portion defining a stop adapted to engage the hiddenface of the guideway-aperture ear and limit the retractable movementthereof.
 4. The lid latch as set forth in claim 1 in which: the springmeans comprises a loose-wound helical compression spring positioned onthe shank of the plunger.
 5. The lid latch as set forth in claim 1 inwhich: the plunger includes a pair of laterally-projecting portionsprojecting diametrically in opposite directions from the shank; and, inwhich the keyway Includes a pair of diametrically-positionedlaterally-offset non-registering portions sized to pass bothhead-forming projections of the plunger.
 6. The lid latch as set forthin claim 1 in which: the notch-defining means includes two pair ofoppositely-inclined intersecting cam surfaces, one pair being located onone side of the notch and the second pair on the other side thereof,said pairs cooperating with the oppositely inclined cam surfaces of theplunger head to extend the plunger upon rotational movement thereofbetween its first and second positions in either direction.